Last weekend I climbed the rigging of the SS Great Britain! Me, anxious, scared to do anything girl. I donned a hard hat, and climbing gear and climbed the rigging up to a platform high above the boat. The platform in the above picture, looks pretty high right? It is in fact over 30 metres above ground level. As you can tell I’m pretty damn proud.

Having lived in Bristol for 15 years I’ve visited the SS Great Britain on a number of occasions and it’s a fantastic day out for any age group. On this occasion I was visiting as part of a blogger trip, with Mr Purple and the Purple children.

Tickets to visit cost £14 for adults, £8 for children and are free for under fives. The tickets are really good value because they include free unlimited return visits for a year. There’s loads to see as you can visit the ship, the dry dock, the dockyard museum, the engine and the Brunel institute. If  you get peckish during you visit head for the Dockyard Cafe Bar which offers light lunches, drinks and yummy cakes.

On this occasion we had limited time so we only managed to see the dockyard museum, and the dry dock. It was really interesting to find out all about Brunel’s revolutionary ship. The SS Great Britain enjoyed over 170 years of adventure, travelled a million miles at sea and has been around the world 32 times!

My favourite part of the visit was having the opportunity to climb the rigging. Go Aloft costs £10 per person and is available for those aged 10 and upwards. You can buy your ticket onboard the ship, once you have your entrance ticket for the SS Great Britain. As well as climbing the rigging to the platform you can edge out onto the main yard for added thrills and a unique view. I didn’t do this as I felt I’d pushed my boundaries far enough.

The guys running Go Aloft were friendly, helpful and reassuring. I’d really recommend this unique experience. It  gives you a perspective on what it would have been like for the crew of the SS Great Britain who would have been climbing the rigging out at sea, in all weathers, without safety gear.

We had a brilliant morning at the SS Great Britain, really getting a feel for what life might have been like for those aboard this classic ship. We’re very lucky to have her in Bristol and I would absolutely recommend a visit. For more information visit the SS Great Britain’s website.

*Disclosure: we were provided with tickets and the Go Aloft experience as part of our visit to the SS Great Britain.